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If lndustrial mix helped Business inflation didnt stop By RICHARD THOMAS Of The Examiner Despite hurdles such as AntiInflation Board AIB restrictions and the increased cost of energy which pinched everyones pocketbook the 70s has been decade which saw steady industrial growth in Barrie says the citys industrial commissioner In fact says Bob Hollywood despite the belttightening and trimming away of fat which marked the latter half of the decade as industry settled in to weather the storms of inflation and increased imports Barrie ap pears to have performed better than the national average Since 1970 the citys list of industries has almost doubled from 35 companies employing about 3000 people to 67 employing some 5400 However the growth in Barrie has not only been in terms of new industries says Hollywood but in the expansion of already existing operations This steady evolution of the smaller in dustries rather than the sudden presence of the giant plant is factor often overlooked in assessing industrial development he says but has proven to be Barries strength In addition the citys diversified industrial mix has protected the community from the economic slowdown and levelling off which marked the second half of the decade he says Barrie did feel an impact because it couldnt move too significantly out of step with the nation Hollywood says but the ef fect was not severe because as one industry slowed down any cutbacks were often taken up by another industry expanding There were no peaks and valleys in in dustrial development during the 7s and the Peaks and valleys few in industry balance was more easily maintained because the city has no single dominant industrial employer such as General Motors in Oshawa he adds When GM cold he says The decade has not been without its casualties however such as Barrie Tanning Ltd one of the citys oldest industries which decided to close recently because of the fall ing demand for leather resulting from decline in the shoe industry In the case of Harrie Tanning the industry was more closely related to the agricultural xttlm and laced steadily shrinking market caused by the popularity of synthetics and demands of society for costly pollution con trols he says However there will always be business casualties Hollywood says as industry and business are in constant cycle of birth life and death And the danger of looking too closely at in dividual situations such as these to give some indication of the true health of industry as whole is that you miss the total picture Casualties in one form or another are always to be expected says the industrial gets sniffle Oshawa gets Prices rise BOB HOLLYWOOD better than average commissioner but the broad view for in dustry in Barrie during the 1980s is one of confidence Management product quality efficiency and aggressiveness are all contributing fac tors to the survival of industry he says and those who maintained these during the toughening process of the last decade are emerging as stronger vigorous breed The game of enterprise became much more intense and business leaders learned to improve the efficiency of performance through maximum utilization of resources in fiercely competitive arena Hollywood says The fat had to be very vigorously trimmed awav Those who learned to recognize new op portunities even during the period of the AIR which introduced new set of rules can now say to themselves we did it and develop the confidence in their ability to do even more Hollywood says It is always question of confidence It is jUSt that basic he adds Spokesmen for some of the larger in dustries in Barrie share the optimism for healthy climate during the next decade but their confidence appears to be tempered with caution based on having survived the sudden onslaught of doubledigit inflation and rising interest rates The 1980s should be reasonably good for companies who watch costs closely and work effectively with employees says Baranowski general manager of Canadian General Electric the citys largest industry to date with 600 employees In addition he says they will have to be prepared to modernize their equipment and be aggressive in their search for overseas markets These are the steps which General Electric had to take from 1974 onwards Baranowski says when its production of small electrical appliances was affected by drop in con sumer demand as well increased imports It meant lowering of the employment level and heavier investments by the com pany to keep costs down he says For the past two years however industry generally has faced the reality of the situa tion and has been fighting back Baranowski says and those who came through have done sobetter prepared for the future Once people learn to live with the new economic facts of life such as high energy costs and higher interest rates general pro sperity will return he says People will deny themselves things for so long and then they will begin to spend again Current projections are also optimistic for Molsons Brewery general manager JG Piesley who points Learn to live with new economic facts out however that they are based on the com panys growth of sales in the US market The US is Molsons primary export market with lot of room to move there says Piesley who adds that the company is thinking of doubling or tripling the size of its plant in Barrie over the next five years depending on how the market potential is realized These plans for developing the Barrie plant were put on the back burner in the mid Ts when the companys rate of growth slowed from about four per cent to about oneanda half to two per cent he says Piesley expects the rate of growth for the first half of the next decade to be relatively low in terms of domestic business which is why the company is already looking to develop strong international market in Europe and Japan says Piesley From our point of view it is going to be necessary to establish worldwide presence The manufacturing industries most likely to be successful in the 19805 will be the ones which are innovative says English president of West Bend of Canada manufac turers of small electrical appliances and cookware and employer of about 180 persons in Barrie In the 70s period of modest growth infla tion and shrinking disposable incomes in novation was one of the major factors con tributing to the success of those companies who did see significant growth he says It was period of growth for West Bend English says because of the new products we introduced The decade to come will be one of continu ing inflation and rising oil prices and mat in particular will be year of some difficulty because of the overlap of the recession in the English says But by the mid1980s we are going to see better climate for growth headds Small business watchful of costs in late 19705 By STEIIIICN NIIIIIS Of The Examiner Increasing costs and tightening economy meant small bUSinessmen had to become very careful during the 70s Tom McBride Barrie business consul tant blames problems in small business on poor planning The late 60s and early 70s saw an precedented growth in business said McBride in an interview Back then you could make lot of mistakes and get away with it But when things started to slow down people who were not running their businesses on sound basis ran into problems Small businesses face the same problems that big businesses do but the small businesses are less able to absorb the mistakes Michael Webb of Webbs Jewellery said keeping up with the times became much more important in the 705 than it had been in the 50 and 60s You have to work much harder now and you really have to be more attuned to ctistomers requirements and desires said Webb EIUATEI ONSIMER The 70s brought an educated consumer who knew what he wanted and was aware of his rights and what to expect in the marketplace Jack Craig of Craig and Sons Mens Wear said the 70s brought heavy increase in overhead Everything went up costs taxes in surance salaries said Craig Mayor Ross Archer businessman himself said costs skyrocketed during the decade think prices have risen much more rapidly during the 705 than in the 60s said Mayor Archer Many times youll buy product now and it may sit on the shelf for three months until someone buys it When you go to replace it you pay more than you sold it for Mayor Archer said it is important today to be careful in operating business Sometimes you dont increase prices as soon as you should and you end up after quarter of year with no profits he said Youre at breakeven situation Small business establishments in Barrie such as these in the downtown core faced prosperity in the late 605 and early 705 but had to tighten belts as the decade wound down increasing costs and tougher economy forced small businessmen to be careful Examiner Photo Bruce Peacock of Peacock Petroleums Ltd said businessmen must be much more careful of overhead and watch what theyre doing all the time ENERGY PROBLEMS Both Peacocks basiness and Mayor Ar chers company Archer Refrigeration were especially affected by energy source problems that developed in the 1970s Were getting back tqa situation we faced in 197374 when there was major oil shor tage said Peacock The oil industry en countered shortages then and cut back on retail locations Now were back into the same situation an allocation of supply spelt ed out by the oil companies Mayor Archer said refrigeration equipment became much more energy conscious Consumers including large commercial operations demanded more energyetficient Equipment that would reduce fuel or electric ills Peacock said starting business became more difficult during the 70s because of the cost of equipment and high interest rates Banking became much more important in the form of loans he said Its much more difficult now fora young person to establish business because the financing is harder to get and the interest rates are so high McBride who runs éhe and Block tax consultant offices in Barrie Collingwood and rillia said there is still good opportunity for business if it is planned well Small businessmen often think of themselves as mavericks said McBride Seeing themselves in this romantic role they dont want to think they have to plan and organize Often they look at the gross sales and keep themselves happy without looking at the net sales he said SOME SlHIEI The businessman who survived the 70s and will succeed during the 80s is the one who spends his time organizing budgeting assessmg the effects of advertising and tries to think things through on more than just tomorrow said McBride McBride sees slow growth for business dur ing the 805 in Ontario Business may flourish in western Canada because of the availability of fuel he said During the past decade businessmen band ed together to bring their concerns to govern ment and that heps he said But the major trend out of the 19705 re mains today he said There is very little room for mistakes in business today said McBride Ontario Ltd says Mike Ostrowski centre plant man HayesDana Axle Division plant discusses production requirements oger at the in Barrie wifh Peter Roberts employees on the job Communicating with the examiner Friday Dec 281979 growt min employees was seen as an important role by management in the 705 Examiner Photo by Communicating vital task far management The 70s are ending an era rather than starting an era says Arch Brown of Cana dian Tire in Barrie Brown has definite views on the problems of management as we enter new decade see change in thrust to where executive officers key people will have to be personnel oriented Brown told The Examiner Brown is articulating concern that ap pears to be the most dominant management problem in business and industry as we enter the 80s The 705 have been very systems oriented decade Brown explained Both the minicomputer and the macrocomputer have come into common usage see that con tinuing but with an emphasis on people Productivity has become crucial concern to Canadas economy Communicating the need for competitive productivity within each organization is the challenge Brown says productivity will affect every man woman and child in Canada We have become less competitive in recent years Canada he says has the highest number of days lost from strikes and illness in the western world There has to be an end to the confronlt tation between labor and management otherwise Canada cannot maintain the pre sent standard of living We will enter decline Brown notes that Canadian industry is con trolled to large extent bv foreign interests In recession the central offices of any corporation are going to give the operation to their most productive facility How are business and industry planning to meet the challenge of competition in the world market Brown sees communication as the key Brown summarizes the comments of many when he says by allowing confrontation from within energy is robbed what is needed to perform the primary purpose Bruce Campbell of General Tire and Rub ber Co Ltd strongly advocates the same principle Communication within an organization is the basis of good management Campbell says At General Tire Barries largest industrial employer communication is encouraged at each individual level of supervision Everyone must be aware of the targets the goals Campbell says General Tire became the sole owner of Mansfield Denman another Barrie industry about 18 months ago giving General payroll here of about 800 people The company encourages communication through their company newspaper and in three to four year expansion program they have not forgotten the physical needs of per sonnel It is estimated that the expansion cost will be in the neighborhood of $20 million Facilities which include new cafeteria lockers and showers have been installed as the company provides people facilities as well as new manufacturing equipment Art Rogers president of the Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce puts communication at the top of his list for management Profit sharing vital part of the decade to come Rogers says Brown sees profit sharing as means of communicating the need to get everybody going in the same direction Rogers says the key result of profit sharing is better communication between manage ment and employees especially in large com panies where there are more levels of super vision Profit sharing has been initiated in the Bar rie area and has already demonstrated an im pact he says Arch Brown is the Canadian Tire Associate Dealer who can observe the results of this system in his own business Brown is 1st vice chairman in the Profit Sharing Council of Canada Cooke Cartage and storage has in corporated profit sharing into its operation and SimpsonSears employ it also Kinzie Dairy under the management of Willard Kinzie was an early example of the arrangement Educated approach best union man says Labor avoids confrontation By LORI COHEN of The Examiner Labor is getting away from the brass knuckles approach to employee management disputes and relying more on education and understanding Thats been the trend in collective bargaining during the past decade says Jim Applegate president of the Barrie and District Labor Council and Local 306 of the United Brewery Workers at Molsons The heavyhandedness and accent on strikes to solve problems is being replaced by more educated approach where unions try to deal with the problems company faces The accusations that we unions were driving industry out of Barrie with our demands are fewer than before Applegate says What good is it to strike for $8 an hour if the company will go under Now we check into things like that He cites the case of Tyler Refrigeration firm that pulled out of Barrie after lengthy strike several years ago rather than meet the unions demands as situa tion to be avoided Labor education involves sending union representatives to school particularly the Canadian Labor Congress school in Port Elgin Ten years ago half the CLC classes were cancelled became of lack of in terest Applegate says Now your ap plication has to be in months ahead of time Applegate says unions have no trouble getting members to foot the bill for educa ion The courses themselves have changed During the six years Applegate has been at tending the shift has been from how to form union and stewart training to more com plex instruction in preparation for labor participation in company decisions Strikes are now regarded as last resort he says Andy Nicholson labor organizer since the 19205 and now labor council treasurer says labors most important step during the 19705 was its overt particiption in the political arena Before there was only political lip ser vice he explains They professed alliance with the New Democratic Party but the economic issues higher pay were their only interest ALLIANCE DRAWN JIM APPLEGATE understanding unions The change is best illustrated by the alliance between the CLC and the NDP that culminated in parallel campaign during the last federal election he says Locally Nicholson has seen no political progress Were woefully far behind completely unsuccessful in the political arena That has to change To date there is no actual labor representation on municipal council or local or bodies other than the Royal Victoria Hospital board with Bob Dennis president of Local 563 of the United Rubber Workers at General Tire Its difficult for working people to get time off to stand for city council says Laura MacDonald president of Local 545 of the United Electrical Workers at Canadian General Tire businessman can better plan his activities She says the city is gradually coming to realize labors importance in civic life but dispute such as the current one at Radio Shack indicates there is not yet an accep tance of workers rights During the past three years the Elec Barrie and throughout the area workers wages and working conditionshave improw ed steadily she says There are total of 44 unions in Barrie some with more than one local On the other hand Nicholson says management is in better bargaining posi tion than ever before as result of increas ed unemployment We havent made much progress he says Workers gains are lower than the rate of inflation and people are now drifting from their unions As treasurer he notes that while the number of union members has increased per capita membership has dwindled Problems that cant be solved in collec tive agreement such as alcoholism on the job have brought labor and management closer together during the past few years conference on the Simcoe County Employee Assistance Program for drug and alcohol problems this fall brought both sides together Applegate notes the joint drug and alcohol abuse and safety commit ees at Molsons that have developed in re cent years Its still problem Nicholson says of workermanagement cooperation There are still those who think that sitting down with the boss is betrayal of the workers His notion of an ideal situation is tripar tate of government business and labor working together as in number of western European democracies WOMEN AT PLANTS Although there is still long way to go local women are making inroads in male dominated plants Women were hired at Molsons and General Tire for the first time during the past three years and although they are outnumbered there are strong female voices on the labor council In general labor council members are younger and more educationally and politically motivated Applegate admits the council is still weak in terms of its impact in the community but stronger council is goal for the 1980s Labor is becoming more powerful but not feared power he says But dealing with nonunion city like Barrie can be dif ficult Mrs MacDonalds impression of local labors last 10 years sums up the situation in nutshell nothing very dramaticjust quiet building It will be long process trical Workers have organized five plants in before labor is represented here